HMP Hatfield: Findings of surprise South Yorkshire prison inspection released
The findings of an unannounced inspection at a South Yorkshire prison have been made public.
HMP Hatfield is a men’s open prison near Hatfield Woodhouse in South Yorkshire with space for just under 360 men.
In its first inspection in five years, HM Inspectorate of Prisons has published a new report revealing that the prison has been scored as ‘good’ - the highest score - across all four areas: safety, respect, purposeful activity, and preparation for release.
The report reads: “We last inspected it five years ago when we assessed outcomes for prisoners as good, our highest assessment, against all four of our healthy prison tests.
“At a time when there is much criticism of the prison system, it is pleasing to report that Hatfield has maintained those standards and arguably surpassed them. For the second inspection in a row, we found outcomes against all of our tests to be good, an impressive achievement for a men’s prison.”
The unannounced inspection took place from July 15 to July 25 2024. Inspectors found that employment was ‘at the heart’ of the prison’s success, and a third of prisoners were working out of the prison on temporary release each day.
Prisoners benefited from an ‘extensive’ enrichment offer to develop their interests. For example, they had extensive access to the gym, chess club, darts, snooker and book club.
Hatfield was also found to be a ‘safe prison with exceptionally low rates of violence’. The report stated that in the previous 12 months, there had been no staff assaults and just two assaults on prisoners.
It said: “Prisoners told us that there were many reasons for them to behave and engage with the regime at Hatfield. The culture was supportive, and they were treated with respect by staff and leaders.
“The positive culture of the prison, supportive staff and opportunities to progress gave prisoners hope and promoted well-being.
“Hatfield’s purpose is to resettle prisoners. The governor had ensured that everyone understood that, and that they were working toward that shared goal. He and his team should be congratulated for what they were achieving.”
No ‘priority concerns’ were identified during the inspection, but two key concerns were raised. This included ‘stained and grubby’ communal toilets and showers in two of the main prison site’s wings, and ‘poor conditions’ at ‘The Lakes’ site.
Another concern was prisoners attending education and industry workshops were “not being helped to understand fundamental British values or the risks of radicalisation and extremism”.